wonton
Meaning
A type of small Chinese dumpling, typically filled with minced meat or shrimp and served in soup.
Usage
We ordered a steaming bowl of wonton soup.
The filling for these wontons is made with pork and ginger.
She learned how to fold wontons from her grandmother.
Etymology
The word 'wonton' entered English in the early 20th century as a direct borrowing from Cantonese (wàhn tān). It is a transliteration of the Chinese term for this specific food item. The Cantonese term itself originates from earlier Chinese, where the characters broadly relate to the concept of swallowing a dumpling. As a culinary loanword, its form was adopted whole into English to name a dish for which no native English term existed, following a common pattern of borrowing food names from their cultures of origin.
Analysis
This word is a loanword from Cantonese. It does not contain separable English morphemes.